


Ice Thrill

by ZeAwesomeBirdie



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College Hockey, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 11:27:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25848796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeAwesomeBirdie/pseuds/ZeAwesomeBirdie
Summary: There's someone new on the college hockey team, someone no one has heard of.
Relationships: Female Canada/Prussia (Hetalia)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	Ice Thrill

The men’s locker room at the college hockey rink buzzed with excitement. Friends greeted each other and new team members introduced themselves, all while getting ready for the first practice of the semester. At the far end, Lovino Vargas complained loudly to Francis Bonnefoy, while Gilbert Beilschmidt looked on with a smirk.

“What do you think of the fresh meat?” Francis asked, tying his long blond hair back and trying to change the subject. He was always the first on the team to change, and today was no exception.

Rolling his eyes at Francis’ smile, Lovino exclaimed, “I think it’s utterly ridiculous that Coach allowed some fucking freshman to walk on the team!” He yanked his practice jersey over his head, causing the seams to squeal lightly, then leaned over to lace up his skates.

“Maybe he is actually good enough,” Gilbert cut in. He glanced around, trying to tally the new players, then realized they were one short. “Who are we missing?”

“Williams, mon ami,” Francis said with a laugh. “Supposedly, he’s been on the ice for almost an hour.”

“Is that the kid who walked on?” Gilbert smirked at Lovino, who scowled in response.

“Williams is the  _ best player _ in the district, or some other such bullshit,” the Italian explained. “And yet, there is not a shred of information about him  _ anywhere _ . Hell, even  _ Ivan,  _ the  _ second best _ player in the district had to try out!”

Ivan Braginsky, upon hearing his name, waved at them before turning back to getting his skates on.

“I believe he was invited, nonetheless,” Francis corrected. “Shall we get on the ice? Fresh ice is always an excellent rarity these days.”

“I don’t want to meet this Williams until I absolutely have to!”

“Lovi, you will be meeting him in twenty minutes anyway,” Gilbert reminded him gently. He stood, taking a step toward the door. “Come on, we need to get out there.”

“You’re the fucking star player, not us,” Lovino muttered under his breath, but he stood as well.

The trio wound their way out of the crowded locker room and into the main room of the rink. The air was chilly, and the sound of skates cutting through fresh ice rang in the air. A tall figure raced toward them, stick in hand, and stopped short at the edge of the rink. She brushed her blonde braid back over her shoulder, and stuck out a hand.

“I’m Maddie Williams,” she said, “glad to see I’m not the only one who - the only one who showed up for practice.”

Gilbert, the first to get over his initial surprise, took her hand and introduced himself. His German accent, which had finally subsided after years of practice, leached into his voice and his face turned red. Maddie grinned at him, her purple eyes shining in the frosty air. Lovino, finally over his shock, muttered a few particularly strong curse words before shoving his way past them onto the ice.

“I don’t see why  _ you _ are on the team,” he exclaimed.

Maddie rolled her eyes, saying, “I’m said to be the - be the best player in the district, I suppose. Pass me a puck and see how - and see how you do.”

Francis laughed, stepping onto the ice after him. Gilbert followed suit, frowning. There was something familiar about Williams, and he realized he had seen her play last year, when the final game of the season for the high school division played at the college. As she passed a puck back and forth with Lovino, he could recognize the same grace and ease with which she handled her skating as before. She appeared to only have grown in skill during the summer months.

“Gil!” Maddie called out, shooting the puck toward him. To his horror, he missed, and nearly fell.

Lovino burst into gales of laughter, Francis chuckled, and even Maddie had to put a hand up to her mouth to hide her smile.

“I had heard you were the star - you were the star player,” she said apologetically.

“Normally I am,” Gilbert responded, smiling. He passed the puck back to her.

“Too bad today isn’t your - is not your day, eh?”

“Maybe it is, who knows?”

Lovino rolled his eyes, and skated off to grab his own puck. A few more of the men on the team started filing onto the ice.

“I’m excited to see how I match up - how I match up against you guys.” Maddie turned to skate backwards around the rink as she spoke. “I heard Ivan made it on, too.”  
“He did,” Gilbert responded. He could feel the minorest pang of jealousy in his stomach, which he ignored. “Between the two of you, our team will be a powerhouse this year.”

“As if you weren’t already!”

“Were we?”

A sharp whistle came from the edge of the rink, and Maddie winked as she took off in that direction. Gilbert exhaled, ran a hand through his white hair, and skated slowly after her. Something about this freshman was thrilling, and he was looking forward to finding out what it was.

* * *

Maddie was late for gym day, the first time she had been late in a week. Gilbert, after getting used to enjoying playful banter with her before practice, turned back to Lovino and Francis, who were arguing over the superior carbohydrate while stretching.

“This is not like her,” he said, frowning.

“Lovesick already?” Lovino teased, grinning evilly. Gilbert swatted his shoulder.

“I don’t blame you,” Francis crooned. He leaned over the barbell lying between them, and added, “If only women were as lovely as men-”

“Would you just shut the fuck up?” Lovino interrupted, “I was joking!”

As they went into another argument, Gilbert rolled his eyes and glanced around. The rest of the team was slowly filing in, and Coach was seated at the head of the room, going over paperwork. The door to the gym squeaked open, and Maddie rushed in, shoving her glasses onto her face. Their eyes met across the room, and she looked away quickly, putting a hand over the red mark now covering her left eye.

“I will be right back,” Gilbert said softly, pushing himself up off the floor. Behind him, Lovino smirked, while Francis chuckled.  
Maddie had shoved herself into the furthest corner from everyone else, and was doing hesitant stretches. Without looking up at him, she muttered, “What do- what do you want?”

“Just saying hi,” Gilbert said. He sat down next to her, shrugging.

“Well, go back to your- go back to your little- your little friend group.”

“You will need a spotter for this.”

Huffing, Maddie finally looked up at him, and he got a clear look of her bruised eye, and the tears forming behind her glasses. After a second, she nodded. “Just don’t- just don’t mock me behind my- behind my back, okay?”  
Gilbert noted the lack of confidence in her voice, and smiled gently. “Of course.”

Maddie returned his smile hesitantly, and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Her smile stuck in Gilbert’s mind for the rest of the day, and when he stepped onto the ice in the evening, he couldn’t help but continue to think of her. Something, surely, had to have made her confidence crumble in the last 24 hours. And there was still the problem of whomever left the black eye.

A box of light slid across the rink as the door opened, and he glanced up to see Maddie walking in, her head down. She hadn’t yet noticed him in the dim lighting. Her headphones were loud enough that Gilbert could hear her music, a dramatic early 2000’s pop song, from across the room. After a moment of hesitance, he skated over to her and tapped her shoulder.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, jumping. “I’m sorry- I’m so sorry, Gilbert!”

“Hey, no worries!” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I suppose I could- I suppose I could ask you the same- the same thing.” Maddie smiled shyly, and clicked her headphones off.

Gilbert shrugged, glancing around the rink. “I come here to think. It helps to be alone sometimes.”

“Do you need me- you need me to go?”  
“No, not at all. Do you want to pass a puck around?”

Blinking in surprise, Maddie nodded. She grabbed a stick and a puck from the bucket by the rink entrance, and passed a stick over to him. They started slowly skating around the rink in silence.

“What happened to your eye?” Gilbert asked. He kept his eyes on the puck, trying to not make her uncomfortable.

“Nothing,” Maddie said. If there was any change in her demeanor, it was that she shot the puck back a little harder than she had meant to.

“Come on,” he pressed.

Huffing, she said, “I got in a- in a fight, okay?”

“And you lost?”

“Obviously.”

“You play hockey.” Gilbert was teasing, trying to get Maddie to open up, and she rolled her eyes in response.

“If I fight I get- I get kicked off the team.”  
“That is bullshit.”

“Glad to see you agree- you agree.” Maddie turned to skate backwards in front of him, and kept the puck for a moment longer to add, “Can we talk about something else- talk about something else now?”

Without missing a beat, Gilbert asked, “What is your favourite kind of beer?”

Maddie grinned, and turned back to skate beside him again. “I don’t really drink. What about- what about you?”

“Probably Oktoberfest. I will have to take you out sometime; I know some good places.”

“Only if the- only if the poutine is good, eh?”

Barking out a laugh, Gilbert said, “Beer is the only food that matters.”  
“Beer isn’t- isn’t food,” Maddie corrected, “But if you want to argue, coffee- coffee is pretty damn good.”

Gilbert made a quick attempt to steal the puck from her while she was distracted, and she immediately bodychecked into him. He took a second to reorient himself, then said, “You are stronger than you look.”  
“What, is that supposed to be- supposed to be a compliment?” She gave him a look of mock offense. “You saw how much I was benching- how much I was benching earlier today, didn’t you?”

“Sorry, I did not mean to-”

“Wait, I didn’t- I didn’t mean-”

“No, you are fine.”

They slowed to a stop at the far end of the rink, and Maddie made a final, playful pass of the puck. Gilbert felt his face heating up, and realized she was blushing as well.

“So,” he said, trying to break the awkward silence.

“So,” Maddie repeated, smiling.

“Do you want to argue about this over dinner?”

* * *

Practice had never felt as long as it did the following day. Gilbert still gave his all, as always, but Maddie was usually one step ahead of him no matter what. Her confidence was back, even though she had a new bruise forming over her right cheek. The moment they were allowed off the ice, he caught up to her and asked, “Are you still good for tonight?”

“Of course,” she responded cheerfully, nudging him lightly. She sat down in front of her locker and started unlacing her skates.

Lovino squinted angrily at her. “At least you get to enjoy dinner with the best fucking player on our team.”

Maddie rolled her eyes and stood to pull off her practice jersey. Before Lovino could add anything else, Gilbert cut in with, “I believe you mean  _ I _ get to enjoy dinner with the best player on the team.”

Francis attempted to hide his laugh, and Lovino shot him a dirty look.

“Both of you should- you should shut up,” Maddie suggested, chuckling. She gave the Italian a pointed look over the t-shirt in her hands before putting it on.

“I think this will be an interesting experiment,” Francis said smoothly. He tied his converse tightly, waiting for the counterargument from Lovino. “Maybe I should go after that Ivan.”

“Hey, Ivan’s bi, if that- if that helps,” Maddie said.

“Oo la la,” Francis responded dramatically, placing a hand to his forehead. “The grips of love!”

“Don’t you dumbasses think dating your teammates is a stupid idea?” Lovino exclaimed. He glared at Maddie.

“This is not-” Gilbert started, but was cut off by Maddie, “If this were a date, you’d be the- you’d be the first to know.”

Silence rang from their end of the locker room while Lovino tried to think of a comeback. Gilbert, still attempting to remember how to tie his shoelaces, blushed a bright red.

“Alright,” Lovino said after a moment. “You’re not too bad after all.”

Maddie rolled her eyes again. Lovino winked and nudged Francis, and they left the locker room in a hurry. Gilbert leaned back against his locker and shook his head.

“Sorry,” he started, but Maddie said, “I’m sorry for starting- for starting that.”

After a hesitant second of silence, Maddie added, “Where are we going for- going for dinner?”

“Where did you want to go?” Gilbert asked, nervously running his fingers through his hair. They were the last ones in the locker room now, and the silence around them threatened to turn awkward.

“You said you knew a place.” She shrugged, standing and grabbing her bag. “I just have to- I have to stop at my dorm room first.”

Gilbert followed after her as she turned out of the locker room. The bright end of summer day sparkled outside of the rink, and the sky was a clear blue. A pair of freshmen sat on a bench near the road. Maddie kept her head down, and walked a bit faster as they headed toward the dorms.

“Hey!” a rough voice said from behind them.

Maddie shook her head, but Gilbert glanced back to see the two men standing and coming closer.

“I said ‘hey,’” the blond man said, and he swung his backpack off. The brunet grinned evilly.

“Keep walking,” Maddie muttered, keeping her eyes on the sidewalk in front of her.

“What is going on?” Gilbert asked quietly.

“Please, just-”

Before she could finish her sentence, the bland man swung his backpack into her, and she stumbled.

“What do you want?” Gilbert asked, turning to face them.

“What, are you her bodyguard?” the brunet taunted.

Behind him, Maddie shoved her glasses back onto her nose and exclaimed, “Can’t you- can’t you just- you just not, Arthur?”

The blond, Arthur, smirked and set his backpack on the sidewalk before stepping forward. “You can’t fight back, Maddie. Too bad Alfred isn’t here to save you.”

“Not like he would now anyway,” the brunet snickered.

“Shut up, Antonio,” Arthur said, nudging him. “Hey, Maddie, who’s the boyfriend?”  
They were closer now, and to a bystander would appear as a regular group of college students talking. Gilbert could hear the malice in Arthur’s voice, however. There was little he could do until Maddie gave the okay.

“Can you leave us- can you leave us alone?” she asked. She seemed smaller somehow, despite still being taller than all of them. “Please?”

“You think your little boyfriend will protect you?” Antonio asked, covering his laughter.

“C’mon,” Maddie said, grabbing Gilbert by the hand and pulling him after her.

The moment the two men were out of his line of sight, Gilbert felt the unmistakable hit of something heavy smashing into the back of his head. Turning so as to not fall, he pushed Maddie behind him and put his hands up.

“Oh look! He’s gonna fight!” Antonio snickered. “How cute!”

“You’re not the one we want,” Arthur added, “Get out of the way.”

“Nein, fuck off.” And Gilbert didn’t regret saying that, despite them both jumping at him.

There was a moment where he wasn’t sure what happened next, but the adrenaline coursing through him, as it always did during a fight, kept him somewhat on his feet. Maddie had gotten dragged down by one of them, and had curled up to keep herself protected. As quickly as it had started, they were gone.

“I’m so- I’m so sorry!” Maddie cried as Gilbert sat down beside her. Her face was red, and a few new darker spots had appeared.

“Hush, not your fault.” He could feel the tightness of swelling in his bottom lip, and grimaced. “What was that?”

“Right. Arthur and Antonio hate- hate me.”

“Ja, I noticed.”

Despite herself, Maddie laughed. “You could say that. Come on- come on, I can- I can get you patched up.”

Standing, she put out a hand to help him up, and they continued to the dorms.

* * *

Once the door to the room closed behind them, Maddie yanked off her t-shirt to inspect the bruising on her right side. She frowned, sighed, and gestured to her bed.

“Take a- take a seat. Where else were you hit?”

Gilbert pulled off his shirt, wincing at the pain in his shoulder, exposing the broken skin on his ribs. “Seems like they got me gut.”

“Hmm. Not as bad as- not as bad as your face.” She smiled, and gestured again for him to sit. “Give me a moment, I have a- I have a first aid kit here somewhere- somewhere.”

“Danke,” Gilbert deadpanned. Maddie rolled her eyes in response, sitting down next to him.

“This’ll hurt,” she said apologetically, holding up a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a tube of neosporin.

Sighing as dramatically as he could, Gilbert said, “If you must.”

“I can’t let you- can’t let you go to dinner without- without patching you up.”  
“Alright, alright.”

She rolled her eyes again, smiling. After several bandages, she leaned back and grabbed a mirror from the bedside table to do her own face.

“Can I help?” Gilbert asked, frowning.

Maddie blushed, and nodded. Having not fought back, her face was significantly redder, puffier, and bleeding. She winced as he gently cleaned around her right eye, and sighed.

“I wish they would- they would leave me alone.”

“They better, from now on.”  
She leaned back against the wall when he finished, frowning. “So much for dinner. Well, thanks for- thanks for helping me.”

“My pleasure,” Gilbert said quickly. Maddie smiled at him for a moment, then sighed again.

“So, dinner,” she said. “Pizza?”

“Sure.”


End file.
